John,
Our world’s oceans are full of mystical life and home to the most iconic and ancient inhabitants of our planet.
But today, this world is under siege from social media: shark poaching for clicks and likes.
Sharks are hooked purposefully, dragged onto boats, piers or beaches, gasping for life, as their fates are sealed for the sake of a shocking video to share online. After the ordeal, they are thrown back into the waters with hooks in their mouth, left to die a slow and painful death.
Social media corporations can be pushed to act -- and right now might be our best chance. Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) has just announced Mark Zuckerberg's new No.2 for all-things-policy. The changing of the guard is a perfect moment to call on them and all social media platforms to stop social media shark abuse. Will you sign and share?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok: Don’t give platform to shark abuse – ban illegal shark poachers and posts!
The sharks we see on social media are not an accidental catch – their capture is a planned act requiring calculated effort and costly tools. Illegal shark catchers use specific bait like stingrays, paired with expensive equipment such as massive reels, high-tech drones, and specialised “fighting plates” designed for hauling these apex predators from the depths.
Now, shark poaching has become an epidemic on social media, with some of the most popular fishing pages openly violating legal protections for prohibited species. These individuals exploit endangered sharks for viral content, delaying mandatory releases by hoisting the animals’ gills—or their entire bodies—out of the water for dramatic videos, all while the sharks gasp desperately for oxygen.
The stress caused during these events can be deadly for the sharks. For some species, like the critically endangered hammerhead shark, the toll is catastrophic, as almost half of them die within hours of being caught and released. Alarmingly, these vulnerable species are among the most prized targets for hobby shark hunters on social media. Scientists have documented a fast disappearance of great hammerheads along the southeastern U.S. coast, a region now plagued by these reckless practices.
It’s time for social media platforms to put an end to the senseless shark killings by regulating their content and policies. And together, we can enforce it. Are you in?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok: Don’t give platform to shark abuse – ban illegal shark poachers and posts!
These majestic caretakers of the seas are already under immense threat from overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change. Let's do what we can to save them from social media.
